Constellations
by DiamondDustOhSnap
Summary: Ignis Scientia Appreciation Society Weekly Prompt 2 - "While spending some time looking at the stars one night, Ignis has an unexpected guest join him." This is a one shot exploring an interaction I didn't know I wanted to see until I wrote it. There's some implied IgNoct if you look hard enough.


_Author's Note: Ignis Scientia Appreciation Society Weekly Prompt 2 - "While spending some time looking at the stars one night, Ignis has an unexpected guest join him."_

 _This is a one shot exploring an interaction I didn't know I wanted to see until I wrote it. There's some implied IgNoct if you look hard enough._

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Ignis lay on the grassy hill near the outskirts of Lestallum. He knew this was risky with all the daemons around, but he needed a moment to himself. With Noctis lost to the crystal mere days ago, the tension between him and Gladio and Prompto had risen considerably. He had to get away, if only for an hour.

He brushed the grass on either side of him with his hands and kept one ear focused on the sounds of daemons, though thankfully he heard nothing. He allowed himself to take refuge in the silence. He kept his face up, toward the stars, but saw only darkness. And yet, in his mind, he imagined that he could see a thousand of them sparking up in the night sky. He imagined the constellations he knew, and created new ones too, giving them names. After all, he was the conductor of this sky and could have whatever constellations he pleased—the perks of no longer being able to see the world.

Between his imaginary sky, the tiny blades of grass dancing at his fingertips, and the silence, Ignis began to relax. He felt himself drifting off, and felt the urge to give in. Just for a moment. One tiny moment, before he knew he had to go back to reality and all the pains that came with it…

At first it was just a faint whisper, no more than the bow of a tree sway in the wind. Then it became more succinct, the voice creeping into his conscious mind. Ignis woke with a start as he felt a hand touch his forehead.

"Shhh… relax," the voice said softly.

It was a woman's voice, gentle and light and with a Tenebraean accent. The hand stayed on his forehead, warm but dry, and he relaxed again—almost against his will this time. He felt the woman take his shades off and place her hands over his eyes. They felt comforting. Warmth began to emanate and a light started to shine, which he could just about make out in his dark world. As the hands removed themselves, he slowly blinked his eyes open, even the one that had been fused shut.

He saw her pale golden hair first, then her gentle eyes. She smiled at him, small but reassuring.

"Lunafreya…" Ignis said. He sat up slowly, feeling only disbelief. He looked at the sky. He wasn't sure if he had just forgotten what it looked like, but it seemed a lot more intense than he remembered. He looked at Luna, who gingerly sat down next to him and folded her arms on her knees.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Ignis," she said. "I'm sorry it could not happen sooner."

"Me too, Lady Lunafreya."

"Just Luna, please."

"Of course."

He wanted to ask her what was happening, how she was even here—if at all. But he couldn't get the words out. He felt too relaxed, too at peace, looking at her and then at the sky.

"Ignis, I need to talk to you about Noctis."

"Noct…"

"Yes. You see, he's going to need you like never before. You have always been the strongest. He has always looked up to you so much, and spoke about you the most. He missed you terribly when he was staying in Tenebrae—and I can feel he misses you terribly even now, in the crystal."

Ignis didn't like the thought of Noctis being all alone in the crystal, but it warmed him to think he was so missed. "You've communicated with him then?"

"Not quite. But I can feel him… Feel his pain. Feel everything he's learning and discovering in there. All the truths he never expected…"

"What truths?"

"The kind that I had always wished not to be so. And yet, we are but servants to greater things."

"I don't understand."

"You will one day. It may take a long time, but I ask you to be patient. And more so, I ask you this: When Noctis does come back, stay strong like you have always been. You will want to fall apart. You will want to change fate. You will be ready to do almost anything to divert the path laid before you. But please, Ignis, choose instead to remain strong."

Ignis could see the pain on Luna's face as she said this. Whatever it was that Noctis was going through, it hurt her—and it hurt him to realize this. But he did what he always did when life seemed almost too much to bear: he breathed it in and reminded himself of just how insignificant he was in this great universe. His blindness, his shattered feelings, his loss—it all meant nothing. And he felt a little better just reminding himself of that.

It was almost as if Luna could hear these thoughts of his. She turned toward him and put her hands on his face, pulling it to her own. She placed her forehead against his, and he suddenly began to feel like he might unravel the second they touched. All the things he just bottled up a moment ago were threatening to break loose.

"Oh, Ignis," Luna said in the softest voice. "You are allowed to feel pain. You are allowed to feel sad. You are allowed to cry. Don't ever hold it in. That's not where you will find your strength."

He tried to resist. He didn't want to hear her words, but he felt them flowing through him.

"You will find it in everything you allow yourself to feel. The good—and the bad."

Then a tear roll down his cheek. And another, and another. He sat there with Luna, foreheads together, for what seemed like an eternity while he finally let everything out.

"Shhh… relax," she said after a time, and he went limp as she lay him back down on the grass. He felt weightless and not in control of his own body, but he didn't mind. He felt safe with her.

Ignis looked at Luna's face again, serene and encouraging all at once. He looked at the stars behind her, and his imaginary constellations began to reappear. They turned brighter and brighter, star by star, as Luna seemed to melt into them, become part of them, till she was gone.

Ignis woke with a start. He raised his hands to his eyes and rubbed them, but continued to see only darkness. His left eye was once again fused shut. He could feel the ragged scars. It had only been a strange dream.

He then felt his shades by his hand. He didn't recall taking them off—Luna had. As he picked them up, he noticed something else too: something soft and velvety was wrapped around his shades.

A single sylleblossom.


End file.
